Announcing: Virginia Madsen and Steven Weber Perform Pulitzer Prize Finalist Stephen Karam’s First Play (Written at Age 17) at The Blank Theatre’s YPF Benefit, Sunday 6/3

VIRGINIA MADSEN AND STEVEN WEBER
WILL PERFORM 2012 PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
STEPHEN KARAM’S FIRST PLAY (WRITTEN AT AGE 17)
AT THE BLANK THEATRE’S BENEFIT EVENING
20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs and Speeches from 20 Years
of the Young Playwrights Festival
SUNDAY, JUNE 3 AT 6PM AT AVALON HOLLYWOOD

Virginia Madsen and Steven Weber have been set to perform A Work Of Art, Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam’s first play (which he wrote at age 17), at 20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs, and Speeches from 20 Years of the Young Playwrights Festival on Sunday, June 3 at 6pm. A Work of Art was produced in The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival in 1997.

Karam, a three-time YPF winner, was a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his critically acclaimed play Sons of the Prophet. His other plays include Speech and Debate (presented on The Blank’s mainstage in 2008), Columbinus (with PJ Paparelli), Emma, and Dark Sisters. In a recent Los Angeles Times story on the history of the YPF, Karam, now 32, said of his experience, “When you see people taking your work seriously at that age, it makes a big impression. For the first time, I thought of myself as a real writer.”

Additionally, Vanessa Williams has joined the cast of stars of stage, screen, and television scheduled to participate, which, along with Madsen and Weber, includes (in alphabetical order) Ed Asner, Barbara Bain, Nicholas Brendon, Brianna Brown, Dale Dickey, Daisy Eagan, Kat Foster, Thea Gill, Peri Gilpin, Lenny Jacobson, Michael E. Knight, Tom Lenk, Scott Lowell, Justina Machado, Allison Mack, Angel Parker, Jessy Schram, Rex Smith, DB Sweeney, Kirsten Vangsness, Gedde Watanabe, Virginia Williams, Noah Wyle, Bellamy Young, and Constance Zimmer.

The 20 Years of Winners event will take place at Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine Street, in Hollywood. Tickets for the benefit evening, which range in price from $50-$250, may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-30-12

Announcing: Stars Set To Perform In The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival & Benefit Event

CATHERINE HICKS, PARVESH CHEENA,
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS, PERI GILPIN, JOSH RANDALL,
LENNY JACOBSON, ZACH ROERIG, MATTHEW MOY, AND MORE SET TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S
20TH ANNIVERSARY YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

More than 50 actors are set to participate in The Blank Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival, including Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven), Laura Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program), Mackenzie Phillips (American Graffiti, One Day At A Time), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), Josh Randall (Greek, Scrubs, Dusk Rings A Bell at The Blank), Lenny Jacobson (Nurse Jackie, Sukie & Sue: Their Story at The Blank), Zach Roerig (The Vampire Diaries), and Matthew Moy (2 Broke Girls). Twelve winning plays by young playwrights aged 9 -19, from nine different states, will be presented during this year’s festival at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, running from May 31- June 24.

Other notable performers appearing in the Festival are Shanna Collins (Swingtown), Jill Larson (All My Children), Daniel Hugh Kelly (Ryan’s Hope), Melissa Claire Egan (The Young and the Restless), Dylan Sprayberry (Man of Steel), Michael Grant (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Angel Parker (Lab Rats), Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced), Sprague Grayden (Six Feet Under, Jericho), Sean Maher (Party of Five), Larry Poindexter (CSI, JAG), and Jack Laufer (Mad Men).

The Blank Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, beginning May 31 and running through June 24 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood. Each week’s program includes three plays. Tickets are $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival Passes, which include one ticket for each week, are $64.

On Sunday, June 3 at 6pm, The Blank Theatre will present 20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs, and Speeches from 20 Years of the Young Playwights Festival. Benefitting The Blank, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit arts organization, this one-night-only event will feature many stars of stage, screen, and television, scheduled to include (in alphabetical order) Ed Asner, Barbara Bain, Nicholas Brendon, Brianna Brown, Dale Dickey, Daisy Eagan, Kat Foster, Thea Gill, Peri Gilpin, Lenny Jacobson, Michael E. Knight, Tom Lenk, Scott Lowell, Justina Machado, Allison Mack, Virginia Madsen, Angel Parker, Jessy Schram, Rex Smith, Jennifer Stone, DB Sweeney, Kirsten Vangsness, Gedde Watanabe, Virginia Williams, Steven Weber, Noah Wyle, Bellamy Young, and Constance Zimmer.

The 20 Years of Winners event will take place at Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine Street, in Hollywood. Tickets for performances in the Young Playwrights Festival at the Stella Adler Theatre (prices above), and for the benefit evening ($50-$250) may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-22-12

Announcing: Listing Info & Play Descriptions – The Blank Theatre’s 20th Annual Young Playwrights Festival

THE BLANK THEATRE
20TH ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

Professional actors and directors present 12 winning plays by young playwrights from across the nation during this prestigious four-week festival. Each week is a different evening of three plays. For complete list of plays and performance dates, see schedule below.

DATES:  May 31 – June 24

TIMES:  Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8pm; Sun at 2pm

ADMISSION:  Adults $20 Students $14.  Festival Pass (one seat each week) $64

TICKET INFO:  Available online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

LOCATION:  The Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood.

WEEK ONE May 31 – June 3

COFFEE TALK
By Spencer Emerson Opal-Levine (age 9), Sarasota, FL
What do you want to become? Do you have to follow the rules? The denizens of a local Starbucks ask these same questions, but the answers are not what you expect.
Mentor – Ellen Byron
Director – David Shine

THE GRANT PROPOSAL
By Nick Mecikalski (age 18), Madison, AL
In the too-near future, your productivity is very closely watched and charted. This family struggles with what one must do when Grandpa is no longer “useful.”
Mentor – Mark Saltzman
Director – James Kerwin

PRINCESS
By Kate Herzlin (age 19), Rockville Centre, NY
Princess has been sheltered her whole life, as if raised in a fairy tale.  But what should she do if a dream life isn’t her dream?  Can she ever find her true self or must she live everyone else’s version of happily ever after?”
Mentor – Brighde Mullins
Director – April Webster

WEEK TWO June 7 – 10

THE INDEX
By Zachary Weaver (age 15), Overland Park, KS
What if they kept a list of your life accomplishments? What would be in your Index? Maybe you haven’t done anything noteworthy. Does that make you not worthy?
Mentor – Patrick Burleigh
Director – Trevor Bishop

SCRAPBOOK
By Brendan Blaber (age 17), Indian Head Park, IL
The last day at Camp Itchyknee seems like the end of the world. And when you are 12 years old, it just may be. Especially if you haven’t been able to tell the cute girl how much you like her yet.
Mentor – David Rambo
Director – J. Richey Nash

THE ART OF LOSING
By Nicole Acton (age 18), Interlochen, MI
Family matters. It is important to give of yourself to help those that have always helped you. But how much can one give? And for how long? And at what cost?
Mentor – Christopher Kyle
Director – Loni Peristere

WEEK THREE June 14 – 17

DAMMIT!
By David Agronin (age 17), Owings Mills, MD
Len needs to apologize to his girlfriend but she’s not picking up her phone, so he leaves a message.  And then another. And then another. Can he stop digging this terrible hole for himself and ever get back in her arms?
Mentor – Austin Winsberg
Director – Matt Graber

OTHER PEOPLE’S ORGANS
By Paige Roth (age 18), San Antonio, TX
Getting Mom’s attention is never easy, especially when she is so self-obsessed. But Carlton needs more that just that from her mother: she needs to know what really happened to her father.
Mentor – Robert L. Freedman
Director – Ameenah Kaplan

ARC
By Elana Zeltser (age 16), Sherman Oaks, CA
Kacey doesn’t get why she needs to write a paper on Joan of Arc. What could this girl from a million years ago have to do with her? She just might find out, when Joan in her jail cell appears in Kacey’s bedroom.
Mentor – Kelly Miller
Director – Barbara Bain

WEEK FOUR June 21 – 24

BEAR IN MIND
By Emma Steinkellner (age 17), Santa Barbara, CA
Sometimes having a conscience can be a real bear. In Annie’s case it is literally a large British bear who wants her to become respectable. So naturally, she tries to get rid of him.
Mentor – Gary Tieche
Director – Jeff Maynard

ONE PLUS ONE IS FOUR
By Rachel Kaly (age 16), Forest Hills, NY
When a meteor is hurtling it way to earth, about to destroy all in half an hour, is it too late to look for love?
Mentor – Dave Holstein
Director – Warren Davis

THE CARDIOLUTHIER
By Dylan Zwickel (age 19), Manhattan Beach, CA
When your violin strings break, you see a Luthier to get them fixed. But where do you go when you break your heart strings?
Mentor – John Cariani
Director – Michael Matthews

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05-15-12